Method of protecting commercial paper.



' `PATENTE)v 00T. 29. 190:.

a slums-SHEET n gw n ' E. B. ANGELL.

METHOD of PROTBGTING COMMERCIAL PAPER.

. APPLICATION FILED APR. 1907.

wlldwk .M Inlllz PATENTBD DCT. 29, 1907.

E. E. ANGELL. METEOD 0F PROTBCTINGUMMERCIAL PAPER.

unmumx rum 23.4.1907.

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PA'IETBD OCT. Z9, 1907.

E. E. ANGELL.

METHOD 0F. PROTEGTING COMMERCIAL PAPER.

APPLICATION FILED Pi-4. 1907.

I SHEETS-SHEET 3.

ZQ reas es TMm/mw l'nfvezrtor'.'

@giran "STATES PATENT orrion.

EDWIN E.

' sie. 869,823.

ANGELL,'OI BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

METHOD OF PROTECTING COMERCIAL FAPER.

Patented 9ct. 29, 1907.

indication tiled April 4. 1907- Serial No. 366.437.

' To all idiom it may concfrn:

v Be it known'that l, Ennis' E. ANGELI.. oi Boston, in

` the count): o Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods oi Protecting Vommercial Paper, of which the following is n specification. t l

This invention has for its object to indicate indelibly and ineffaceably the monetary value ot' checks. bonds,

'stock certificates and similar commercial papers, so

that any attempt at erasure or alteration or' the characters formed in. on, or of the paper will destroy the paper 'so elfectuallv as to render absolutely impossible the successful consummation of any attempt to increase the amount indicated on the paper.

In carrying my invention into cect I indicate the value represented by the paper by altering the appearance of the paper over areas of any desired amplitude which entirely surround spaces that are let blank, the edges oi the altered portion of the paper adjacent the blank spaces being so shaped as to give such blank spaces he contourot' the figures, letters or other conventional characters which they are intended to represti-nt. This alteration 0i appearance is produced by coloring, cutting` displacing or corrugating the paper,

or by a combination of these operations. At the same time, the action on the paper which causes the alteration referred to also so weakens 0r destroys the con- ,tinuity thereof that it cannot be made sufficiently smooth or restored' nearly enough to its original strength las to permit of a different character being designated i thereon in place of the original character. These altel-ed portions are preferably inked so as to define more :clearly the outlines of the characters and to eliminate still further the possibility' of altering the characters.

Y In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one embodiment of a device or carrying out my invention as the same is hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings-Figure 1 represents a central longitudinal vertical' section through the device or apparatus. Fig. 2 represents a cross section on line 2--2 of F ig. I. Fig. 3 'represents a cross section on line 3 3 4of Fig. 1. Figs. t and 5 represent detail elevations of two .forms of impression members by which the characters are formed-in, of, or upon theshcet. Fig. 6 represents a detail sectional View of one of the character lforming members. Fig. 7 represents an elevation of a part of a sheet of paper, showing the appearance thereof after the characters have been formed thereon.

table surface l1. Within the base.a.1'e bearings l5 for l a tubular shaft or sleeve 16 to which is rigidly secured a rotary printing table or plate I7. Secured to the rear end of thc tubular shaft or sleeve is a gear 18.

A tubular arm or lever 19 is provided with eats 20 lever is formed withlateral arms 22 (see Fig.

the bracket or frame portion 14 is provided with sockets or holloyvr pieces 23 containing springs 24 and plugs or plungers 25 which are pressed upward by the springs against the under sides o the arms 22 so as normally to hold the lever raised in the position indicated in Fig. 1. The arms 22 are also provided with uprights which are pivoted at 21 to the sides o the base. Said 2l and j 2G at their outer ends', towhich are pivoted at 28 arms 27 carrying inking pads or rollers 29. Springs 5G are connected with the arms 27 and to a pinl projecting l from the top o the lever so as normally to hold the inking rolls in Contact with the circumference o the upper will be presently described.

A shaft 32 is rotatively mounted in the tubular lever 19 and carries rigidly upon its end a. gear 33 which meshes with the gear, 18 at a point in line with and between the pivots 21 of the lever 19, so that movements oi the said lever will not. throw the. gears ont of mesh and will have no other effect than to move one slightly out ot the plane ot' the other.

Secured to the shaft 32 is the upper4 printing plate 34 which has acylindrical rUrternal operating surface so formed as to impress the paper. A handle 35 is secured to the iront end o shaft 32 as is also a disk or dial 36 provided with suitable characters which, by reference to a stationary indicator 37 indicates the character which will be shown upon the sheet when any impression is robe made by the printing plates.l

From the top o the bracket or fiume 14 is an upright oi the lever. A horizontal tubular member 40 at the upper end of the upright containsa pin or detent 4l which is normally pressed outward by a spring 42. and has a convex or conical outer end adapted to enter any one of o. series 'of holes i3 in thegear 33. The pin 41 is recessed on the under site at 44 asto receive a stop screw l5 which prevents the pin being wholly ejected from the tubular member 40 by the spring. Preferably the diameter ot thepin 41 is sligl'itly larger than that oi the holes 43 so that only the tapered end enters these holes. thus enabling the gear to be rotated by the handle 35 by the employment of suilcient force to retract the pin.V owing to the :pressure on its beveled end oi the edge `o the hole, The end ei the pin. however, slips into each oi the holes as the lutter comeI into line with On each side ot` the lower printing plate or rotary table 17 is a roller or pad 46. these rollers being carried by arms 4T pivoted at 48 to the base and pressed against the periphery o the printing table by springs 49.

printing plate or character forming member, which 38 having a stop pin'39 to limit the upward movement it. and so tends to arrest thegear and hold it stationary.

There is an adjustable stop in the frame against iyhich any one of a series ot `:tops 5l carried by the upper printing member S4 is adapt-ed to Contact so as to limit shaft 58 which passes through the central bore ot' the the amount of movement of the members toward each other. At 52 is shown a JWheel presser-foot mounted upon a stud or pin 53 carried by a movablemember so as. to hold the paper against thesurfaee 'of a leed 'wheel 54.

The feed wheel above mentioned is mounted on pin 55 secured to the frame and toit is secured a pinion 56. Said pinion meshes with another pinion 57 fast upon a tubular shaft or sleeve 16. On the rear end of shaft 58 is secured a ratchet Wheel 5 9 adapted to. be actuated by the movement oithe lever 19 toward and away from the lower printing plate Y17. The mechanism by which lthis actuation is produced consists of a pawl 60 pivoted to the lower end o an arm 61 and drawn toward the latterby a spring 62. The arm is carried by a rockshaft 6% upon which is also secured an arm 64 see Fig. 2), the end of which engages a perforated ear 65 which projects downward from the tubular ai'm l`9. Through these connections each downward movement of the lever withdraws the pawl ronLa tooth of the ratchet and upon the upward movement ofthe levelthe springs.

24v cause the pawl to be advanced and to turn the ratchet 58 through the space of one tooth, thereby turni ing the eed wheel suficiently to advance the paper far enough to receive anew impression. A detent i edge of the paper are shown at '71.

'The character oi the printing or character-forming members is illustrated in elevation in Figs-4 and and in section in Fig. 6. The surfaces oithese printing members which come into contact with the paper are grooved and ribbed, forming sharp-edged ridges aalternating with angular depressions b, these being sospaced on the cooperating members that the ridges of o ne'fntcr thegrooves ofthe other, and thereby indent. comlgate,

or partly cut through the paper. In the upper printing member are formed depressions or cavities c which have the shape or reversed figures, letters or other conventional characters, and are contained entirelynithin the boundaries of therigid surfaces. The ridges and grooves Au and b extend tothe edges oi' the cavities c. and terminate abruptly. Thus when the printing plates are pressed together on opposite sidfs 'ot' thc paper. the lat! er is offset and penetrated orcut through more or less completely where it. is pressed upon by tho ridges. but

I it is not altercdin any way upon those portions which lie under the cavities c. Thus cach impression upon the paper causes the charactcr to bc outlined thereon by the abrupt termination ot thc cuts or ridgcs. so that each character is rcprcscntcd by smooth blank space, while the paper ou all sidcs o this blank .sp-.icc is cor- 'nigated, its continuity destroyed. and ils strength ciently dee'p so that the paper is greatly'stretched when compressed between the printing plates, and this has thtl effect either of wholly cutting through the sheet on the lines of the ridges, or ot' stretching and somewhat pulling apart the fibers so that the paper is much weakcned and the surface ronghened and entirely altered in appearance. This causes the unchanged areas in the shape of the characters to become plainly apparent and to-be easily read.' The eflect is intensified when-ink is applied by the plates, because then the grooves receive color contrasting with that of the sheet, whereby the points at ivhich the ridges depositing the color terminato are very sharply defined.

The roughening and partial destruction of the paper renders it. practicallyr impossible for a dishonest person to increase the,original indicated value of the paper, for the reason that.the displaced and partially separated fibers cannot be again smoothed down to give the sheet its original texture, and thus a. new ilnpressiouovcr a former one, of which the effacement had been atten1pt.

ed, willshow evidence of tampering sufficient to raise suspicion. When the ink is deposited at' the same time that the paper is impressed, theloosening and separation 4ot' the fibers enables the ink to be partly soaked up and to penetrate into the interior ot' the sheet. At thc same time the paper is so weakened that it will not-v stand more than a very little rubbing without tearing away. Thus it is absolutely impossiblc to remove thc ink and to oblitemtc thelirst impression sutticicntly to enable a subsequent impression to bexnndc on thc sunnsnrt'ace without, detection. The removal ot' an entire character and substitution bodily o a picco ot" paper carryinga. different one also is impossible; first, for the reason that the new piece could not bemade of the right thickness and formed with corrugations to match and aline with those oi the sheet, except bythe mert accident, and second, that there is not enough body and strength left in the sheet after the partial destruc tion hereinbet'ore described to permit of firmly uniting the substituted piece with the remainder of 'the shcct.

The lower printing plate may be made either as shown in Fig. 4, or in Fig'. '5, that is, with a continuous serias I of uninterrupted ridges, or with cavities having the form of' the conventional characters. In the latter case the printing membersfare adjust ed so that the chamctcrsuf .DI one vvill enactly register with those of the other, the

characters in the lower niembcril appearingais on thc sheet, while those 0i the uppermember are rcvm'sed.

I am aware that hitherto commercial paper has been printed upon by means or' types which cnt or corrngalv "the paper over the surfaces represented by thc chaufpupcr exactly its previous nppcamncc. \\'lwn cum- 125 nn-rcinl pnpcr is pwtcctcd by my 'method above dw scribed. honcvcr. thorc is no portion oi ilu.- shcot actuallyY removed. so that therefore il is inun'vssiblc to snb-A stitulc trcsh bits in place ot the injured un-lions: inrfxmrmom eine tho whole armi oi the sin-cl surroumling.

Ain'.,r the entire field between the charactersf lit-ld of the paper surrounding arcas haring; the forni of con ventiona l characters.

'l c method of protecting commercial paper. which consists in destroying the continuity of tho surface of the paper ou all aides of areas having the form of conventimmlcha noter-s. which :irc left intact. Said tics-traction inclnti Ii. The method of protef'tin;r commercial paper. hich consists in dizstortingr the surface ofthe entire tield of the paper snrrouncing blank aas havin;r the form ot' conventional characters, while leaving' all thc particles of the paper attached to the shect. L

L 'l'he method of protccting: commercial paper. which rma-Es s in weakening. without removing. thc entire tiehl of ila paper immediately snrronndin: blank portions in thel t'or'm of conventional characters.

. 'Vlie method of protecting commercial paper. which :ats in \\.tkenin:.`,. without removing". the entire tield of paper innnedatcly surrounding blank portions in thc if cnnvcntimial characters, andrdepositing.' ink on the 'hanf-d portions of the papcr. 1i. `lhc method ot" protecting cominci-cial paper by fore. a h; iii-.1. and :sin'niltaneousl;` distal-tin" and weakening. :ht- --nire field of tho paper on ail sides o a portion thoreh.\-\ the form of :1 conventional tuuu-acier. which is ich' vai-mth and rit-ax'. I

l'. ilu' nicthmi of protectingr commercial paper. consistmi.' in turrru'fatiiz: the paper to form alternato riil'ges and tapfer-sions. "-lerrnptngI thc ridges and depressions to flyilean` blank smooth ntcrmedialo spaces sin-pcd :ts conn-nlional characters. the said rn |\s and depressions occnpyin; thit-ntirv lit-ld between characters. and initim.y iin hotA tunis nf lin depressions.

S. 'l'he lntthod olprotecting; connhvrciai paper. consisting;- in press-in; the papcr hctivcen printing; lah-s hfjn'in; alternahiy .oppnscd sharp ridges and depressions, one oi' holh ot said plates ha ins recessc .szhap-d as conventional inn-aciers or thtl rim-rse of char... .ers. .he said ridges and depressi-.ins occupying thc` ire teld hctw-en the characters. and forcing.: ink into 'thc paper by means of sach ridges.

it 'lhe method ot' protectlng commercial papcr which consists in t't'n'min;r a character out of thc original paper by dcstroying tht` contlnnit of the papr, but without remov-` ing: the samc. innnetiiateLr and entirely aronnrl the char- :lt-let".

10. Commercial paper havin: smooth blank arcas shaped as conventional characters` the entire lic-ld between thc cha'ractcls hein: occupied by weakened and distorted purtions ot' the paper.

1l. Commercial paper harina smooth blank areas shaped .as conventional charactcrs, tln` cntilc surface ol thc paper between and Surroundingr said areas hein;r inkcd and thc .Il lers thereof stretched and weakened.

J2. Commercial paper havin-.g smooth blank s shaped as conventional characters having snrronndin.r portions and tht-entireintcrnnaliate field corrugated to form alternalim.: ridgcs and depressions. said ridges :ad depressions terminating t the edges olti'c said Spam-s.

ln tcstimonr whereof I l.ive affixed in v signature. in' presenta* of t\\'o witness-0S; 

